Device for increasing striking power in martial arts strikes

ABSTRACT

This invention discloses means to increase striking power by applying the principal of progressive selectable resistance to a boxing and martial arts strike training device that allows users to select and pre-determine resistance as appropriate for striking with various body weapons such as arms, hands and feet. More particularly, this invention discloses means having a pivotal mast element, having a striking pad affixed thereto, a fixed tension anchoring assembly, and means to incrementally increase or decrease resistance by use of either compression or expansion resistance means such as springs, bands and the like. Selective positioning of said springs, bands and the like, along the plane defined by said pivotal mast and tension anchoring assembly, enables the user to pre-select resistance at the striking surface. This new and novel adjustable strike training device has a quick rebound into the start position for combination training and enables each user to customize force needed to duplicate the feel of striking opponents of various sizes and weight classes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority benefit of Provisional PatentApplication 60/745,365 filed Apr. 21, 2006

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of martial arts, many devices have been employed to allowthe individual adherent to practice and perfect the execution anddelivery of combative strikes. Equipment, familiar to most practitionersof the art, are the suspended heavy bags, of leather, canvas or thelike, configured in form, much like a dufflebag stuffed with sawdust,sand, rags, foam or other packing material.

These heavy bags come in various dimensions of length and girth, and inweights, most frequently between 50 and 100 pounds. Not withstandingtheir long use, they and other strike training equipment possesslimitations that will be both addressed and remedied by this disclosure.Most important to note are that these striking bags and other striketraining tools are not capable of providing a variable, and selectivelypre-determined resistance at point of impact. Attempts to effect achange in the resistance at the point of strike, with heavy bags as anexample, has run the gamut from having a plurality of different weightedbags, attaching weights or bungee cords to the bottom, and having peopleof various statures assist in steadying the bag to provide greaterresistance to strikes and limit the movement of the bag on impact.

Most training facilities serve multiple users. As people are endless invariations of height, weight class, strength, skill level, etc., priorart may be suitable for only one user or a small number of users, or forone form of strike, practice or execution. Therefore, with present meansit is possible, that a student may be either under or over challengedduring any practice session.

Centuries ago, the Japanese devised a training system to increasestriking power known as the makiwara. Essentially, the makiwara was aplaned down and tapered length of lumber, normally of oak, poplar orash, driven into the ground with about 4-5 feet extending above thesurface. A striking pad was affixed toward the top of this exposedportion of the board and the student could practice both hand and foot,arm and leg strikes targeting this pad. The most important advantage ofthe makiwara is that it provided a spring like resistance when struckand as a punch, for example, hit the pad, resistance at the surfacepoint of impact actually increased through the linear travel of thestrike. This is the opposite in dynamics when striking a heavy bag orthe like where the bag moves and/or absorbs the impact of strikes. Whenmartial arts students were provided with multiple makiwara of variousstrengths in these training facilities, a progressive resistance programfor strike training was attained. This resulted in the predictabledevelopment of a substantial increase in striking power.

The described training using multiple makiwara of various strengths,having the stated spring like feel and stated unique striking dynamic,served to increase striking power in much the same manner as progressiveresistance weight training is known to increase muscle size, strengthand lifting performance. This multiple makiwara training using variousstrength resistance and lengths, facilitated students in developingpower, focus and effectiveness in striking different size opponents andin developing power using different parts of the body as strike weapons.

Modern versions of the makiwara are actually less effective and most arepoorly constructed. Limited by the fact few people can now opt to trainoutside, bracket means are used to hold mostly inadequate 2×4 homecenter purchased lumber. The modern versions now being used indoors aremostly non-production home made equipment of poor or inconsistentquality, ineffective in design and “seat of the pants” engineered. Mostimportant, with either the centuries old original or the modernconfigured versions, resistance cannot be adjusted for different ages,sizes and striking ability of students. Traditional training with amultiplicity of makiwara, although effective, has not adequately bridgedthe gap for use in modern boxing and martial arts gyms.

What has long been needed is a piece of strike training equipmentpossessing the following characteristics: capable of either portabilityor stationary attachment to the floor or wall; as appropriate to theenvironments of home or professional facility use; an adjustablemakiwara spring like feel at the point of contact, comparable to theoriginal makiwara; easily and infinitely adjustable, to enable users topractice various strikes at different and selectable resistance levels,and being able to take advantage of progressive resistance to developpower and focus. Additionally, such a long needed piece of equipmentshould be able to be configured with not only the small focus pad of thetraditional makiwara, but also be capable of fabrication in a scaled upversion with a larger striking pad target, allowing those training withthe device to benefit using stated progressive resistance training withstrike combinations.

Prior means used to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies have fallenshort in key ways and it is an object of this invention to put forthremedy and to disclose novel means to further the art and correct suchnoted shortcomings.

For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,035 by Tumminia, discloses a corner onlystriking tool of a somewhat makiwara configuration. However, thestriking pad is braced and negates a flexibility and particularly, thepossibility of adjusting tension to match technique or user. Tumminiabasically defines a platform for mounting various attachments and doesnot address adjusting for variable tension/resistance in a striketraining tool.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,842 by Chu, discloses means to provide for sometension and rebound in a striking tool, however, fails to provide forprogressive resistance training and is overly complex. Additionally, themulti axis design is contrary to the objective of this disclosure andlikewise does not adjust and return into battery with a rebounddelimiter, and therefore, does not result in quick return to the“start/at ready” position.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,212 by Jacques does provide for a modicum ofprogressive adjustment, but uses a weak single expansion spring that canbe hand stretched to engage at different affixing hole locations, lacksan infinity of adjustment and is designed for only uppercut training.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,533 by Dong offers a makiwara like appearance butcomprises a piston to effect resistance, however, hydraulic and orpneumatic adjusting means does not offer the duplication of the desiredspring like feel, quick adjustment or rapid return into the “atready/start” position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What has long been needed is a strike training tool for the martialarts, boxing and the like that is infinitely adjustable as to theresistance at the point of impact, intuitive to use and suitable foreither focus or combination strike training. Likewise, said striketraining tool should have the ability to provide challenging trainingsessions to all skill levels of users and be suitable for perfecting theexecution and form of numerous power and follow-up strikes. Said meansshould be simple, intuitive, durable, easy and economical tomanufacture, transport and assemble.

This invention discloses such means comprising a base member enable theinventive device to be a stand alone unit, attached to the floor ormovable, with or without a deck for the user to stand on; or attachableto a wall or pillar mount fixture; a pivotal mast that is pivotallyattached to said base member; a tension anchoring assembly having abraced upright member, designed to add, remove, compress, expand orreposition springs, bands or the like in order to increase or decreaseresistance at the point of striking impact.

The features of this invention and the preferred embodiments thatillustrate both expansion and compression means to provide variableresistance at the striking pad surface, will become clearer by referenceto the following drawings and descriptions. Unless otherwise noted, forthe sake of clarity and for conceptual purposes, with the exception ofthe striking pad, bumper, springs and spring position fixtures, allparts should be considered fabricated of steel tubing or the like. Whilesteel tubing is preferred over other materials, for simplicity,strength, economy and ease of manufacture, obviously other materials canbe used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS AND DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a first embodiment of the larger padversion of the invention illustrating the use of expansion springs.

FIG. 2 is a profile view of this first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view from the rear, showing closer detail of theexpansion spring mountings and adjusting members of this firstembodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a side elevation view of the base and tension anchoringframe from the rear.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view in profile of the bottom portion of thepivotal mast and rebound delimiter.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment in a side elevated view configured tobehave in training like the first embodiment, but with an appearancemore in keeping with the traditional makiwara and designed to usecompression springs, or the like and having a smaller, makiwara likestriking pad target. For a better view of the compression springpositioning knobs, the compression spring on this figure has beenomitted.

FIG. 7 is a view in profile of this makiwara like embodiment, showingthe same parts as in the previous figure, this time complete with atension spring.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Use of the invention, in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1 thepractitioner stands facing the striking pad (20) and delivers a striketo said pad. Pad (20) is attached to pivotal mast (30) by connectingmember (35) and when struck, pad (20) connecting member (35) and pivotalmast (30), acting as one assembly, moves away from the user in an arcdefined by its pivot attachment at pin or bolt or the like thatpenetrates through holes (95) in ears (90) and at the same time alsopenetrates through hole (100) in the lower portion of pivotal mast (30),that is housed between said ears forming the pivot point. When the padreaches its fullest rearward movement as determined by the force of thestrike and the selected resistance provided by the position of theexpansion springs (40) on rails (45) & (47) springs (40) then contracts,the result being to rebound mast (30), connecting members (35) and pad(20) back toward the user. As the pad returns to the at ready position,the end portion of the rebound delimiter (60) returns into proximity andmakes contact with bumper (80) and the forward return movement is thenhalted and striking pad (20) is again positioned, ready for the nextstrike.

If the user determines that more or less resistance is desirable to givethe user the feel of striking a larger or smaller opponent, the user canreposition springs (40) either up or down along rails (45) & (47). Thereare four springs, two on each side of the inventive device, but springscan also be added or removed as desired. When springs (40) arerepositioned upward, the tension and resistance at the striking padincreases, when springs (40) are repositioned by lowering theirplacement on rails (45) & (47) resistance at the striking pad decreases.

In this embodiment, the frame that holds positioning rail (47) is partof a stationary non-moveable sub-assembly comprised of brace (50) andupright (12) and is non-moveably affixed to base (70) and serves as thenon-moveable tension anchor assembly when the novel invention usesexpansion springs, bands and the like to effect resistance at strikingpad (20).

As seen in the second embodiment with compression springs and a moremakiwara like configuration, the function is identical. FIG. 7 showsthis embodiment in profile. With this embodiment the user stands facingthe striking pad (57) which is attached to a board (53) mounted topivotal mast (51). Board (53) serves to provide a more traditionalmakiwara appearance but is optional in as far as being necessity as tothe function of this invention.

When pad (57) is struck, pad (57), board (53) and pivotal beam (51),move together in a direction away from the user, in an arch defined bythe length of beam (51) toward the spring anchor tensioning member (55).When the pad reaches its farthest travel, determined by force of strikeand selected position of the spring, the compressive spring (91) movesthe pivotal mast back toward the start position, halting when reboundfoot (14), of rebound delimiter (13) returns into contact with rubberbumper (15) ending the forward movement of the pivotal mast (51) andstriking pad.(20). Note that the pivot defining member (21) has aplurality of positioning through holes. Spring anchoring tensioningmember (55) and pivotal mast (51) have through holes in their lower endportions and align with the through holes in the pivot defining member(21), a pivot action is achieved in pivotal mast (51) by use of a pin,bolt or the like that penetrates both the pivotal mast (51) and thepivot defining member (21) and anchoring/tension member (55) is nonmovably affixed to said pivot defining member by a bolt or the like andfurther immovably secured by brace means (67).

With either embodiment of the compression or expansion springarrangement, there are three distinct ways in which tension can beincreased or decreased to achieve desired goal of providing a selectableresistance when using the inventive device for strike training. Thefirst is by the raising or lowering of the spring, springs or along theplanes defined by the pivotal mast and spring anchoring adjustingmember. The second is by adding or removing springs, or changing tosprings of greater or lesser strength, and the third is by placingadditional compression or expansion to the springs used with the novelstrike training tool by repositioning spring rails or pivotal mast andanchoring members

1. A selectively adjustable strike training device for practicing themartial arts, boxing strikes and the like comprising a base member; anelongate pivotal mast; said elongate pivotal mast having a striking padaffixed thereto; means to attach said pivotal mast pivotally to saidbase; a tension anchoring member; means to affix said tension anchoringmember to said base in proximity of said pivotal mast; means to affixand position tensioning springs, bands and the like along the planedefined by said pivotal mast and tension anchoring member with means toreposition, expand, compress, remove or position additional saidsprings, bands and the like, to selectively change resistance at thestriking pad.
 2. A base according to claim 1 where said base comprises apart of a platform frame.
 3. A base according to claim 1 wherein saidbase is attachable to a wall, floor, corner or pillar mounting fixture.4. A base according to claim 1 wherein a bumper is affixed to said baseand aligns with end of rebound delimiter.
 5. A pivot defining memberattached to said base comprising at least one pivot joining position toalign with pivotal mast.
 6. A striking pad according to claim 1 whereinsaid striking pad is vertically adjustable along the length of pivotalmast element
 7. A positional location means according to claim 1 such asrails, knobs and the like on which expansion or compression means suchas springs, bands and the like are selectively joined to and positionedon said pivotal mast and said tension anchor.